1. Field
The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for remote credentials management within wireless communication systems.
2. Background
In many telecommunication systems, communications networks may be used to exchange messages among several interacting spatially-separated devices. Networks may be classified according to geographic scope, which could be, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area. Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN), or personal area network (PAN). Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique used to interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g. circuit switching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed for transmission (e.g. wired vs. wireless), and the set of communication protocols used (e.g. Internet protocol suite, SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking), Ethernet, etc.).
Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements are mobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the network architecture is formed in an ad hoc, rather than fixed, topology. Wireless networks employ intangible physical media in an unguided propagation mode using electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave, infra-red, optical, etc. frequency bands. Wireless networks advantageously facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment when compared to fixed wired networks.
Before a device may begin using a network, the device may need to provide information to the network identifying the device and, in some instances, associated subscription information. The subscription information may include service level, available network services, and other features that may be used by the device. In some implementations, the device identifier may be sufficient to identify associated subscription information.
For example, to obtain cellular service from an operators of a user's choice, cellular consumer electronics (e.g., tablets, Smartphones, feature phones, cameras) or machine to machine (M2M) devices (e.g., smart utility meters, sensors, vehicle assistance devices) typically require the user either to buy a SIM card from the operator and install them on or in the device. Alternatively, the devices may come preinstalled with subscription credentials (e.g., on a smartcard or in the memory of the device) of the operator that the user desires to get the service. The former may be expensive to the operator (e.g., due to distribution channel complexities). The former may also be inconvenient to the user. For example, if the device is a smart energy meter, the SIM card would need to be secured to avoid theft. The latter may tie the device to a particular operator. This can make it expensive for the device vendor because different models would be manufactured for each operator (e.g., multiple SKUs per operator, per country, etc.). Furthermore, the latter may limit the user's choices as certain devices may be provided for a limited number of operators.
One way to solve the problem is to configure the device remotely using an existing subscription on the device (e.g., on the smartcard or on the device itself) to download the credentials. Alternatively, an existing subscription associated with another form of out-of-band connectivity (e.g., WLAN) may be used to download the credentials. However, if the device does not support another form of out of band connectivity (e.g., lacks WLAN capability or WLAN is not available to the device) and/or no subscriptions credentials are available to the device, it is still desirable to provide a method for these virgin devices to be provisioned using a cellular network.